Looking for plastic-free Valentine's Day gifts for women and men? Then you are absolutely right here! Every year on February 14 we celebrate the Day of Lovers. It is a wonderful opportunity to make a beautiful, loving surprise to your partner, as well as to the people around you.
Unfortunately, experience shows that Valentine's Day gifts also generate a lot of plastic waste. And that is why the day is also ideal for meeting the environment with love as well.
So in this article, I'd like to share with you some wonderful Zero Waste Valentine's Day gift ideas that you can use to highlight your love for special people. Let's go!
- Soaps and shampoos
- Potted plants instead of cut flowers
- Breakfast in bed
- Cook a candlelight dinner together
- Homemade
- Massage with natural oils
- Give away second hand books
- Personal water bottle
- Eating at Zero Waste Restaurant or Café
- Homemade treats
Notice: I have written you another separate blog article about sustainable valentine gifts compiled. Feel free to take a look there, too. Here, however, the focus is now on waste prevention on the day of the lovers.
Why should I give a Zero Waste gift for Valentine's Day?
According to the story, Valentine's Day owes its name to St. Valentine, who lived in Rome in the 3rd century. He is considered the patron saint of lovers and is said to have given flowers to the couples he married.₁
Over time, this developed into a custom that has somewhat degenerated nowadays. On Valentine's Day, garbage cans are pushed to their breaking point and an especially large number of natural resources wasted.
But where exactly does the waste come from and why should you care about a plastic-free Valentine's Day gift? Here are some reasons that should motivate you:
- Overconsumption: The waste is mainly caused by the purchase of new goods, which are produced cheaply, are not durable or do not like the gift recipients at all. Some products are even produced exclusively for Valentine's Day. What was not sold on the day is often sorted out and disposed of.
- Flowers: Roses and other cut flowers are a beautiful and fragrant attention on the day of lovers. Unfortunately, they quickly deteriorate and then end up right back in the trash.
- Gift boxes: Who his Gifts not specifically packaged plastic-free, also creates plastic waste on Valentine's Day.
- Balloons & Confetti: Red balloons, plastic confetti and other Valentine's Day decorations are not mandatory and also leave a lot of trash behind.
- Gift Cards: On Valentine's Day, experience shows that millions of plastic and paper gift cards are handed over, which are also often difficult to recycle.
Last but not least, the Plastic waste in the environment one of the largest Environmental problems of our time, at which every year millions of animals use.
What should plastic-free Valentine's Day gifts be like?
So the motives are obvious. For easy orientation, I'd like to give you some more info on what a really good Zero Waste Valentine's gift looks like:
- Durable: A beautiful, plastic-free gift idea is long-lasting and does not end up in the trash can again after a week. It fits well with the character or interests of the person receiving the gift.
- Waste Avoidance: It is important to avoid packaged new goods and generally the creation of waste as much as possible. A good gift is therefore resource-conserving, loose, used or just not physical.
- Experiences instead of things: Shared experiences usually come without plastic waste and are really special gifts that give pleasure for a long time and are particularly fondly remembered.
To find the right gift and avoid buying a new one, you should, among other things. use what you have, make things yourself and pack them yourself if necessary.
10 gift ideas: Which plastic-free Valentine's gifts are especially nice?
Now you know what to look for in a plastic-free Valentine's Day. So the theory is clear. But what exactly can I give to my partner or other loving people?
While jewelry is a classic, it is unfortunately also extremely resource-intensive and exploitative in its extraction and production. If it still has to be jewelry, you should buy it used, recycled, vintage or fairtrade.
Here I would like to introduce you now but viellieber also some more, plastic-free Valentine's Day gifts for women and men, which should also please you and the person receiving the gift.
1. soaps and shampoos
How about plastic free Bar soaps with bay oil and lemongrass or solid organic shea shampoo in recyclable paper packaging? In addition to soaps, you can also use compostable sponges, solid deodorant or countless other beautiful things from the Zero Waste Bathroom give as a gift for Valentine's Day.
Just look around here for plastic-free cosmetic products:
2. potted plants instead of cut flowers
Roses and cut flowers, to the surprise of many people, unfortunately, do not tell the story of love. They are mostly sold under pesticide use and inhumane working conditions produced in Kenya and sent halfway around the world. And all that, only to throw them in the organic waste garbage can a few days after Valentine's Day.
Really long-lasting, as a good relationship should be, is therefore alternatively a houseplant as a gift for Valentine's Day. Ideally you even grow them yourself from some offshootsso you definitely avoid flower pots and packaging waste.
3. breakfast in bed
A romantic breakfast in bed is a classic Valentine's Day gift. As usual, you can get rolls in a cloth bag from your favorite bakery, make the spread yourself from fresh vegetables or get it in a jar - and muesli is also available without packaging or wrapped in paper in any organic market.
Or how about alternatively for example with a vegan coconut French toast With berries, Tahina porridge with caramelized chili oranges, buttermilk Pancakes or a Love Smoothie Bowl?
Here you can find the right recipes to this.
4. homemade
You don't have to spend a fortune to prove to someone that you love her or him. Homemade, plastic-free Valentine's Day gifts are usually especially effective because they show that you love the Effort for a small, loving surprise not shy.
Beautiful Gift cards For example, you can design them yourself from existing material, instead of buying them in the store with plastic coating or glitter.
Also a beautiful Collage with pictures from the two of you is always well received. And roses are wonderful folded from paper in origami style. Instructions for Paper roses you will find for example here on Pinterest.
Tip: Feel free to read also in the post "Using and upcycling old packaging". inspire more creativity.
5. cook a candlelight dinner together
What could be more romantic than a candlelit dinner prepared together in the comfort of your own home? Just cook what you feel like and makes sure that all Leftovers recycled as efficiently as possible can be used. For example, radish leaves and carrot greens can be used to make pesto, pumpkin seeds can be roasted and orange and lemon peel can be used to enhance many dishes.
Here are a few more recommendations on my part:
- Food: A Valentine's Day menu for lovers with matching recipes is available here
- Wine: Matching vegan wines in the recyclable glass bottle you get here*
- Candles: And here is a beautiful Instructions for a Zero Waste candle
Additional Tip: In the detailed article about the Plastic-free kitchen if possible you will get more inspiration.
6. massage with natural oils
As we said, shared experiences are usually the best gift ideas on the day of lovers. How cool would it be if there was also a immediate, health, noticeable effect would have?
For Valentine's Day, treat your partner to a great massage with some Olive oil and biological, essential oils from the glass bottle. Scented oils such as lavender, pine or citrus are best suited. Alternatively, you can of course have a couple's massage in a Wellness center book with waste-avoiding philosophy.
7. give away second hand books
Want more ideas for plastic-free Valentine's Day gifts? Used books are, admittedly, a pretty simple Valentine's Day gift idea. But if your Second hand purchase wonderfully fits the person receiving the gift, it is guaranteed not to miss its effect. For example, how about a Romance novel or interesting non-fiction books around your swarm's favorite topics?
Just look around here for used books:
Tip: Things buy used brings many advantages with it and is an essential basic rule of the Zero Waste Lifestyle. I explain this and other principles in the linked article.
8. eating at zero waste restaurant or café
Meanwhile, there are also more and more restaurants and cafés that consciously pay attention to waste avoidance and resource conservation. In the middle of Berlin, for example, you will find the Zero Waste Restaurant "FREA. There you will get unique meals from sustainable, plant-based, seasonal and regional cuisine.
Alternatively, you can also choose from zero waste cafés, which are now available in almost every German city. The "In Good Company" in Hamburg or "Isla Coffee" in Berlin are quite prominent examples. You can also take your favorite person there for a nice Valentine's Day breakfast.
9. personal water bottle
A reusable Stainless steel drinking bottle or glass belongs to the classic Zero Waste Basic Equipment and is therefore also a wonderful, long-lasting and waste-avoiding gift for Valentine's Day. The person receiving the gift can use it fill up everywhere, take with you and thus avoid expensive water from plastic bottles.
Here you get the two drinking bottles in different designs:
- Glass bottles with swing top and uniquem design from Soulbottles*.
- Edelstahl Trinkflasche von Blockhütte*
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Small glass bottle25 € -
Bottle brush16 € -
Large stainless steel drinking bottle25 €
10. homemade treats
As a small gift for Valentine's Day or a complementary, creative dessert for a candlelit dinner, you can conjure up a treat or two for your partner.
How about for example Chocolate mousse from aquafaba, the foamed water from the can of kircher peas. Or Chocolate strawberry parfait and homemade Broken chocolate with chopped almonds? The more you prepare yourself, the easier it is to save on packaging and other waste.
Get inspired by these recipes on Chef, for example.
Plastic-free gift ideas for Valentine's Day? No problem!
From bar soaps, to candlelit dinners, to couples' massages, to reusable water bottles, you've got plenty of inspiration for the most plastic-free Valentine's Day gifts possible that will make your Further reduce ecological footprint.
"The only thing of importance, when we depart, will be the traces of love we have left behind."
Albert Schweitzer (more at Love Quotes)
Regardless of what you decide, your attention should come from the heart and definitely give the recipient pleasure for a long time - then you are not only on the waste-avoiding, but also on the safe side. And please don't forget that, apart from Valentine's Day, you can also be affectionate to other people on all other days of the year, and live as plastic-free as possible kannst. 🙂
Do you have any questions, suggestions or other plastic-free gift ideas for Valentine's Day? Then I look forward to your comment under this article.
Stay clean,
PS: Also tickets for a Zero Waste Festival can of course be a nice gift! In the linked article you can now learn how you can generally avoid waste at any festival event.
References:
₁ M. Riederer: The festival of lovers: Where does Valentine's Day come from? (As of Jan. 17, 2023), available at https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/geschenke-und-blumen-warum-feiern-wir-den-valentinstag,Rom7tSn. [07.02.2023].
